Liam Ratana

Last week, 12 non-governmental and civil society organisations received $169,250 from the Social Impact Fund (SIF), to help them carry out projects focused on vulnerable groups within the Cook Islands community.

A team of coastal engineers from Australia visited Rarotonga last week to help with the collection of data on nearshore ocean currents and water mixing processes outside the lagoon, as a part of the Mei Te Vai Ki Te Vai (MTVKTV) project.

The Cook Islands is at risk of a high level of “water stress” as a result of abnormally low rainfall predicted over the next three months, says New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).

The Cook Islands Ministry of Health’s temporary ban on injections of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine has been lifted after it was confirmed that batches of the vaccine in this country are safe.

The appointment of Tupapa Maraerenga MP George Maggie to cabinet last week came as a surprise to some Cook Islands political pundits, who predicted the MP for Tupapa-Maraerenga would instead join with the Democratic Party to form a government.

One Cook Islands party leader Teina Bishop says there is “no friction” between him and OCI’s sole Member of Parliament, George Maggie, following Maggie’s appointment to the CIP-led “caretaker cabinet”.

Elizabeth Pera never imagined herself being a professional rugby player. However, five years on from her first game of union, the 25-year-old is now a capped international who has a contract to play sevens in Japan.